To elect a Chairman for the hearing.

Councillor P Jones CBE was elected as Chairman for the Regulatory Sub-Committee hearing.

To receive apologies for absence.

No apologies for absence were received.

To receive details any details of Members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a Member of the Committee.

There were no substitutes present at the hearing.

To receive any declarations of interest by Members in respect of items on the Agenda.

GUIDANCE ON DECLARING PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS AT MEETINGS

The Council’s Members’ Code of Conduct requires Councillors to declare against an Agenda item(s) the nature of an interest and whether the interest is personal or prejudicial.  Councillors have to decide first whether or not they have a personal interest in the matter under discussion.  They will then have to decide whether that personal interest is also prejudicial.

A personal interest is an interest that affects the Councillor more than most other people in the area.  People in the area include those who live, work or have property in the area of the Council.  Councillors will also have a personal interest if their partner, relative or a close friend, or an organisation that they or the member works for, is affected more than other people in the area.  If they do have a personal interest, they must declare it but can stay and take part and vote in the meeting. 

Whether an interest is prejudicial is a matter of judgement for each Councillor.  What Councillors have to do is ask themselves whether a member of the public – if he or she knew all the facts – would think that the Councillor’s interest was so important that their decision would be affected by it.  If a Councillor has a prejudicial interest then they must declare what that interest is and leave the meeting room.

There were no declarations of interest made.

To consider an application for a new premises licence in respect of ‘48 St Owen’s Street, Hereford, HR1 2PU.

The Regulatory Sub-Committee was convened in order to determine an application for a new licence in respect of 48 St Owen’s Street, Hereford. The application was submitted in accordance with Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003.

The Chairman introduced the Members and Officers and asked any interested parties to introduce themselves. The following attendees were noted:

·         Mr Pearton and Mr Shaw (Applicants)

·         Mr Hamad (An interested party supporting the application)

·         Mr Kennedy (An interested party objecting to the application)

·         Mr Branzcik (An interested party objecting to the application)

·         Mrs Wyllie (An interested party objecting to the application)

·         Mr Rawlinson (An interested party objecting to the application)

The Chairman advised all parties of the hearing procedures and asked if any person required an extension to the time allocated for making representations. None of the attendees felt that an increase to the 10 minute time allocated for making representations was required.

The Licensing Manager introduced the report and advised members that the application was for a new licence. She noted that the advert for the application had not been seen by the Licensing Department. Mr Shaw confirmed that the advertisement had been delivered to the Licensing Department by hand.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, Mr Kennedy, Mr Branczik, Mr Wyllie, and Mr Rawlinson, interested parties who had objected to the application, addressed the sub-committee. They raised a number of points, including:

·         The application faced onto a number of houses on Cantilupe Street

·         The premises had previously been operated as the Pegasus Club and more recently the Liquid Lounge.

·         There had been concerns in respect of noise when the Liquid Lounge was open.

·         Happy to support a well run restaurant but had concerns in respect of noise from music at the premises.

·         Happy with the plans proposed by the applicant but there could be concerns if the premise was sold at a later date.

·         Smoking ban had caused more noise concerns to the neighbouring residents due to the increased usage of outside areas.

·         The local Cathedral School held after school activities up until 10pm, concerns were raised regarding antisocial behavior from patrons of the establishment.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, Mr Hamad, Mr Shaw, and Mr Pearton, addressed the sub-committee in support of the application. They raised a number of points, including:

·         The applicants had previously been professional caterers for a number of five-star restaurants.

·         Wish to open a family friendly restaurant offering excellent quality to the people of Hereford.

·         Happy to amend the licensing hours in respect of the supply of alcohol to a terminal hour of 23:30.

·         Happy to remove amplified music from the application.

·         Off licence sales would allow patrons to purchase a bottle of wine to take home if they enjoyed a particular brand.

·         Employing 30 staff throughout the two restaurants managed by Miro.

·         Upstairs areas had been carpeted and lined to reduce noise issues.

In response to questions raised by the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.